Telephone directory assistance services have been available for the past century. While improvements have been made over the decades, such systems are still poorly suited for many users, including in particular, subscribers of mobile telephone services (e.g., cellular and personal communications service ("PCS") subscribers).
In prior art directory assistance services, a customer dials an operator and identifies the name and address of a party whose telephone number is desired. The operator then locates the number, using printed directories or a computer database, and provides the number to the customer. (The provision of the number is sometimes done by the live operator, but more typically is done with a synthesized voice response unit that provides an automated voicing of the number.) After the customer's inquiry has been satisfied, the connection to the operator is terminated.
While satisfactory for most customers, this arrangement is ill-suited for many mobile telephone and/or PCS customers. For one, such customers are usually away from their general work environments (e.g., in a vehicle), and thus may not have ready access to a pencil and paper in order to make a note of the desired number. (Even if such materials are available, the customer may not find it convenient to interrupt other activities, e.g., driving, in order to make a note.) In addition, the process of initiating a second call--to the desired party--entails further manual operations (e.g., hanging up, waiting for another dial tone, and dialing) which may be a hindrance to the customer's other activities.
The present assignee has redressed certain of these difficulties by providing a directory assistance service that eliminates the need to make a note of the desired number, or undertake a redialing exercise. Instead, after determining the telephone number desired by the customer, rather than voicing it to the customer, the directory assistance operator proceeds to initiate a call to the desired party, and connects the new outgoing call to the original customer. This arrangement obviates the need for the customer to make a note of the voiced number, or to undertake a redialing exercise. However, the number can still be voiced to the customer if desired.
Rather than dropping all further involvement with the call, as is typically done with most directory assistance systems, the assignee's directory assistance system continually monitors the connection thereby established for a predetermined DTMF signal issued by the customer, such as that obtained by pressing the "*" button. If such a signal is detected, the customer is transferred to a directory assistance operator, who can then provide whatever further assistance is needed. By this arrangement, the press of a single button by the customer summons further directory assistance, rather than the redialing procedure normally required.
However, if the initiated call is not completed because a "busy" tone is received, or a continuous ringing signal for a non-answering party is received, then the customer must either immediately contact the directory assistance operator again (e.g., with the press of a single button as was described above) or hang-up and re-connect to the directory assistance operator again at a later time by undertaking a redialing exercise.
If the caller re-connects to the directory assistance operator, the operator can re-initiate the call, but if the line is busy, or the party is not answering, then the caller must either write down the desired number, or call the directory assistance service again at a later time. Both of these options are unsatisfactory for many cellular telephone customers as they disrupt the customer's activities.
In accordance with one preferred embodiment of the present invention, a directory assistance service is provided which alleviates the busy signal and non-answering parties problems. For example, in one embodiment, a caller who wishes directory assistance services is connected in the conventional manner to a directory assistance operator who determines the destination telephone number desired by the caller. The operator and the system then initiates the call connection to the destination telephone number for the caller.
If a busy signal (or any other non-ringing or intercept signal, e.g., re-order, disconnected number tone, tri-tone, etc.) is detected, an on-line call monitoring and reporting system drops the connection to the busy called party, and a voice response unit plays a message to the caller with the following options: (1) to leave a message for the busy called party; (2) to listen to a voiced play back of the telephone number just called so the caller can write down the number for future unassisted calls; (3) continue calling the requested party every N minutes, where N is determined by the caller or set by default (e.g., set by the service provider); (4) call the requested party again; (5) page the busy called party at another number; or (6) to return to the directory assistance operator for further assistance.
If the caller chooses option (1), the caller can record a voice message, or send an alphanumeric character message. The caller can also choose this option at any time by pressing the "M" (the number six) key or other predetermined key(s).
The directory assistance service will attempt to contact the busy called party at specific durations (e.g., once every half hour) to automatically deliver the calling party's message (i.e., either a recorded voice or an alphanumeric message). After a certain number of unsuccessful attempts (e.g., 10 attempts), the message delivery to the busy party is canceled. The caller also has a "confirmation" option wherein the directory assistance system calls the caller back to confirm successful or failed delivery of the message.
If the calling party chooses option (2), the system provides an automated voicing of the number to the caller. The caller can record this number for future unassisted calls to the called party. The caller can also choose this option at any time by pressing the pound or number "#" key twice or other predetermined key(s).
If the caller chooses option (3), the system will continue calling the busy party at set intervals. The caller can also choose this option at any time by pressing the "C" (number two) key or other predetermined key(s).
If the caller chooses option (4), the system immediately redials the called party. If the line continues to be busy, the caller can repeatedly select this option to continue redialing the called party.
If the caller chooses option (5), the system pages the called party. Like option (1), the caller also has a "confirmation" option wherein the directory assistance system calls the caller back to confirm successful or failed delivery of the page. The caller can choose from a predetermined set of alphanumeric character messages to send with the page. The caller can also choose this option at any time by pressing the "P" (number 7 key) at any time or other predetermined key(s).
If the caller chooses option (5), the caller is returned to the directory assistance operator. If the caller has not responded after a predetermined time-out period, the system preferably defaults to option (5) and automatically returns to an operator. At any time the caller can press the star "*" key to return to an operator. The directory assistance operator can then is provide further "live" assistance to the caller.
If a ringing signal for a non-answering party is detected, an on-line call monitoring and reporting system would after a pre-determined interval, mute (i.e., attenuate or remove) the ringing tone for the caller while the actual ringing of the called party continues. A voice response unit plays a message for the caller with the following options: (1) to leave a message for the busy called party; (2) to listen to a voiced play back of the telephone number just called so the caller can write down the number for future unassisted calls; (3) to continue calling the requested party at selected intervals; (4) to page the busy called party; (5) to return to audible ringing for the call; or (6) to return to the directory assistance operator for further assistance;
If the caller chooses option (1)-(4), the same scenarios described above for the "busy signal" take place. If option (5) is chosen, the system continues ringing the called party. The system defaults to one of the options (e.g., option (5)) if the calling party does not make a selection within a predetermined time-out period.
The ability to leave a message or page that is automatically delivered to a busy, or non-answering party provides a number of benefits to the caller, the busy and/or non-answering party, and the directory assistance service. The caller does not have to record the called party's phone number, or initiate a second call to the directory assistance service at a later time to try and contact the desired party whose number is not initially known. The caller can also receive confirmation of successful or failed delivery of the message or page, relieving the caller of the burden of checking as to whether or not the recorded message actually did get delivered. Thus, interruptions to the caller's activities are kept to a minimum, which is important when the caller is using a mobile telephone or PCS device. Minimal interruptions are also important to land line callers.
A caller can also leave a message for a busy party, and/or a non-answering party without an answering machine, neither of which is normally possible. In addition, a message or page can be left with a non-answering party who is using another telephone service feature (e.g., call waiting) which would normally prevent a caller from making a connection and leaving a message, even if the non-answering party had an answering machine.
The called party will receive messages that could normally not have been delivered. Thus, the called party is less likely to miss an important message. The directory assistance service also benefits since directory assistance operators can spend more time speaking to and connecting new callers, instead of continuously interacting with a caller who is experiencing a busy signal, or a non-answering party.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a caller can provide input choices by speaking the name of the input buttons that are normally pushed. For example, if the caller was asked "to press or speak one" for a response, the caller could speak the word "one," thereby choosing response number one. Therefore, a caller who encounters a busy (or other intercept signal, e.g., reorder, disconnected number, etc.) or non-answering party for example, can leave a recorded message for the party without any additional keypad input after dialing the directory assistance service. Speaking the responses to menu questions offers a substantial benefit over directory assistance services which require telephone keypad inputs. Mobile telephone customers who may be engaged in other activities (e.g., driving a vehicle) that make it inconvenient to continually press keys on the telephone keypad, can simply speak responses to menu items.
The foregoing and additional features and advantages of the present invention will be more readily apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.